A day remembered throughout the generations Published Sept. 10, 2008 By Jodie Wankowski Special to Times VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- "Good morning," greeted the usher before Vandenberg Base chapel's 10 a.m. Sunday mass. "Here, take a church bulletin. Oh, don't forget this extra information, too." Sitting in a pew and looking down at the bulletin supplement, a pang of guilt washed over me. The insert was an announcement of an interfaith remembrance service being held at Chapel 1 at 9 a.m. on Sept. 11. The events and its victims of that ill-fated day faded from my mind. The days of September were passing without so much of a thought of the terrors seen on TV years before. I had forgotten. Two boys, about 9 or 10, were sitting in the front row and were talking in hushed tones. The whispered words were not just reserved for the higher power's house, but also for a discussion of a topic deemed dire. In the children's hands were announcements of the 9/11 remembrance service. In their minds were the tragic events that unfolded and it was reflected in their respectful words. "Are you gonna go?" one boy asked the other. "I might, if mom goes and gets me out of school," answered the second boy. "Teachers should let us go. It was so bad and my dad deploys a lot so it doesn't happen again." "Yeah," said the first boy, "I'd kinda like to go, too." Many children have lived the majority of their lives in a pre-September 11 America. Like other adults, I remember an America where the cold war ended and foreign threats were minimal. No preoccupying thoughts of attack on U.S. shores plagued my early years. No sacrifices were demanded and true vigilance wasn't a way of life. On September 11, 2001, an estimated 3,000 lives came to an end-as did our sense of security. Three hundred forty-three firefighters and paramedics died. Twenty-three police officers perished. The majority of those lost was between the ages of 35 and 39. Only 289 bodies were found whole and roughly 19,858 body parts were found. Thousands of children lost a parent. Roughly 20 percent of Americans knew someone who died in the attacks. Damage to property cost billions of dollars. It was a horrific day in the nation's history. Unfolding events and grim statistics filled the airwaves. People watched in horror as the towers fell that dust-filled September day. Dazed and shocked, soot-covered citizens walked the streets of New York. Millions of Americans breathlessly watched a new era of terror being ushered in. The morning of the attack, a call came in to the Wankowski household. My staff sergeant husband had that Tuesday off, but he was quickly summoned to work. I will never forget his silence as he took the call and his solemn look while he listened. "What's going on?" I asked as he hurriedly begun dressing in his familiar BDUs. Lacing up his shiny black combat boots, he simply said, "Turn on the TV." Holding my months-old daughter Angelica, I turned on CNN. Nothing could have prepared me for the images I saw and the pain I felt. My husband's uncharacteristic quiet was well justified. No words could have testified to the blow America suffered. Angelica is now seven years old. Since she was a baby, her life has been lived post-9/11. Her America is one filled with the fallout of the day our enemies tried to bring down our great nation. Being a military child, she understands papa deploys every year so the atrocity isn't repeated. Deep within her, the understanding of a need for strong national defense lurks. My daughter has watched friends' military mothers and fathers get injured on duty in faraway lands. Unlike many civilian adults, Angelica has developed a greater sense of freedom not being free and it's readily paid for by those in uniform. Her America is one that is under constant threat and must be defended. We can learn a lot from the children born in the years after 2001. Our America is worth protecting and each person is a valued citizen. The terrible loss of life and shaking of our constitution's foundation can never, ever be forgotten. It also cannot be allowed to happen again. Each child born in the last seven years knows the need to defend inherited freedom. The current generation understands and remembers 9/11. They witnessed the high cost of not guarding the homeland from dark forces. They mourn the loss of American lives because our way of life views each person residing in the USA to have unalienable rights. All of us are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If any power tries to terminate these democratic gifts, we the people are called to fight it. Americans must remember what happened on our soil years ago. The lives lost must be a constant reminder to stay strong. The U.S. military and its mission must be supported. Our Constitution gives us our unalienable rights; our military's dedication guarantees it. Thank you to all who are serving in the armed forces. Your profession pays tribute to the lives lost on 9/11. By having courage to accept the challenge to defend, you made a promise to the victims and their families that no other Americans will suffer as they have. Hopefully, all currently in a branch of service will remember why the promise was made. Those affected in past attacks surely do.